


Love Freely Given

by Magicofisis



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Erotica, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Heterosexual Sex, The Quidditch Pitch: Erotic Couplings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-23
Updated: 2005-10-23
Packaged: 2018-10-27 17:40:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10813692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magicofisis/pseuds/Magicofisis
Summary: Harry has insomnia.  Hermione is a good friend.  Written as a birthday gift fic for Annearchy. Harry/Hermione, PWP, First Time.





	Love Freely Given

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

Notes: It’s hard to write with one eye closed, but I managed to do this for my wonderful friend, annearchy, for her birthday. People who read my stuff and know that I frequently scoff at the Harry/Hermione ship (all in good fun, of course) will do well to note that Anne’s initials are AU, which describes this fic to a “T”. Betaed by the snoggable abigail89, whom I love dearly.

~*~*~

Hermione liked to tell herself that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. She’d been the brightest witch of her age for as long as she could remember, and before that, a precocious little girl. She knew that girls matured earlier than boys, that beauty was only skin deep, that there was someone out there for everyone, and that true love was based on much more than an initial attraction. Still, it didn’t make her feel any better when she was the only seventh year girl sitting in the common room on a Saturday night with no prospect of a date at all.

Lavender and Parvati liked to confide in her – they were much nicer than they used to be. Hermione would ask them about their dates when they came in, and they’d tell her about kissing this boy or that one, who tried to make a move on them and what they’d done about it. She felt more like their housemother than their peer. Still, at least she got to find out what other girls were doing so that when the time came, she wouldn’t seem like such a neophyte.

It didn’t help that she was best friends with two boys who absolutely refused to acknowledge that she was a girl. Well, Harry knew that she was a girl, but he had declared dating and relationships totally off limits once he learned about the prophecy that was going to turn him into a murderer or a victim. Ron was, well, Ron, and though she loved him dearly as a friend, she wasn’t sure he’d recognize her as a girl even if she showed up in his bed wearing nothing but a bra and knickers. She’d long since given up on Ron as a potential boyfriend.

Most of the time it truly didn’t matter to Hermione that she was stubbornly single. There were N.E.W.T.s to be revising for, Head Girl duties, and S.P.E.W. meetings to plan. Then there was Harry, the poor dear, who had debilitating dreams, and a crushing workload, and Quidditch. She sighed. She couldn’t believe she could be so selfish when she saw how stoically Harry was handling all the pressures that had been placed upon him.

She was wrong about that, though, as she found out in the wee hours of one Sunday morning. She’d just gotten back from escorting a first-year girl with a high fever to the hospital wing when she saw Harry, slouched on one of the couches by the fire. He hadn’t noticed her come through the portrait hole, and he jumped when Hermione touched his shoulder.

“Hey,” she said softly, “do you want some company?”

Harry smiled and nodded. Hermione sat down next to him and they leaned their shoulders together in the comfortable manner of old friends. “What are you doing up wandering around the castle?” he asked with a frown.

Hermione snickered. “Well, I’d like to say that I’d snuck out for a midnight tryst with a tall, dark and handsome wizard, but unfortunately I was just taking Paula Macmillan to the hospital wing.”

Harry looked at her quizzically. “How come girls always seem to want tall boys? What’s wrong with us average-height blokes?”

“It’s just an expression, Harry. No need to get so sensitive. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your height. Everyone knows that it’s what you’ve got inside that counts.”

A grin quickly spread across Harry’s face. “Is that so? Then I suppose you also believe that large hands and feet are an indicator of what a bloke has hidden inside his trousers?”

Hermione blushed crimson. Of course she hadn’t meant that! She nudged him hard with her elbow. “Boys are always trying to twist things around so that there’s a sexual innuendo! I was referring to the type of person you are, not the size of your…bits.”

Harry was laughing. “I know, but it was such a perfect set-up. And I do like to make you blush.”

Hermione’s expression softened. “And I love to see you laughing, even if it’s at my expense. So why are you down here in the middle of the night?”

“Can’t sleep. I’ve got too much on my mind, and sometimes the tension is so intense that I can’t relax.”

Hermione knew that Harry was referring to his impending battle with You-Know-Who, and she couldn’t blame him in the least. But to look at him, he was exhausted.

“When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. Tuesday, maybe?”

“God, Harry! How are you going to be ready when the time comes if you haven’t slept in a week? Have you asked Madam Pomfrey for a sleeping draught?”

“I’ve taken so much of that stuff that it doesn’t work for me anymore. Any other type of potion she could give me would make me drowsy all day long, and I can’t be sleeping through classes with N.E.W.T.s coming up.”

Hermione watched the light from the fire dance across Harry’s glasses, and she felt an overwhelming desire to hug him. She watched him absentmindedly rub his neck and had a brilliant idea.

Standing up, she grabbed Harry by the elbow, pulling him to his feet. “Come on, Harry. We’re going to see about getting you a good night’s sleep.”

Harry was slightly stunned at this proclamation, especially when she stopped in front of the stairs to the girls’ dormitory.

“Hermione, I can’t go up there. It’s charmed to keep boys out, remember?”

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. She cast a charm on the stairway and pulled him onto it. “For goodness sake, Harry. Did you think I didn’t figure out the counter charm by the time we were fourth-years? Some nights I have to chase five or six boys out of here at curfew time.”

As Head Girl, Hermione had a small private room at the top of the staircase. She pushed him inside and rapidly closed the door behind them. A quick scan for unmentionables yielded nothing, so she led him to the bed and motioned for him to sit.

“Wow, this is nice,” said Harry, surveying the comfortable furnishings. The room was tidy, except for the enormous stacks of books that seemed to be taking over one corner. “Er, does Madam Pince know that you have half of the library in your room?”

Hermione flashed him a Look and smiled. “Very funny, Harry. At least I have everything I need right at my fingertips. Here – take off your dressing gown and your t-shirt and lie face down on that half of my bed.”

Harry’s head snapped around, and he glared at her as if she was insane. “What?”

“Come on, Harry, don’t be such a prude. It’s not like I’m going to ogle you or anything. I’m just going to give you a nice massage so that you can relax and go to sleep.”

“What – you mean right here?”

Hermione walked to her dressing table and picked up a bottle of lotion. “Of course right here. That’s why you have to stay near the edge – so there will be room for me to sleep, too.”

Harry eyed her skeptically, but Hermione wasn’t taking no for an answer. She stood over him with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to do as she’d asked. She carefully removed his glasses and left them folded on her bedside table.

Once Harry got comfortable, Hermione opened the bottle of lotion and held it up to his nose. “This isn’t too girly, is it? Because it’s the only thing I’ve got.”

The lotion had a light vanilla scent, and when Harry didn’t object, Hermione smoothed some on her hands and onto his back. Harry’s back was broad and muscular, well toned from Quidditch playing and other defensive training he’d been practicing. Despite her promise not to ogle him, Hermione couldn’t keep the thoughts out of her head that she wished this massage would be a prelude to other activities of a less platonic kind. The muscles in Harry’s back were, indeed, bunched into tiny knots, and she worked each knot patiently with her thumbs, rubbing out from his spine, across his shoulder blades and down to his lower back. She found more knots up by his neck, and felt a surge of something shoot through her spine as he moaned a little at her touch. Little by little the knots were loosened, and in less than ten minutes, he’d fallen asleep.

There wasn’t much room, but Hermione crawled into the bed next to Harry, turning her back towards him. Well, at least now she could tell Lavender and Parvati that she’d slept with a boy, and let them draw their own conclusions.

~*~*~

Hermione awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She looked at the clock and saw that it was seven-thirty – still early for a Sunday morning, but later than she usually rose. She glanced at the other side of her bed and saw that Harry was still sleeping like the dead. She crept to the door and opened it a sliver to reveal Ginny standing in her dressing gown.

“Hermione, Ron sent me up to get you. He said that Harry’s missing and he wants you to help find him.”

Hermione was about to ease Ginny’s worries, when it occurred to her how bad it would look for the Head Girl to have smuggled a boy to her room and let him stay overnight. No one would ever believe her that she was only trying to help him get some rest.

“Okay, let me just put some clothes on. Would you mind going back down to tell Ron that I’ll be right there?”

Ginny shrugged crossly. “No problem. I live to be the messenger…”

“Thanks, Ginny,” she called after her friend.

Hermione quickly closed the door and pulled on a jumper and jeans over her pyjamas. She tried to wake Harry, but he was out cold. Whispering his name didn’t rouse him, nor did a gentle shake of his shoulder. Hermione thought for a moment, knowing she’d have to hurry before Ginny came back upstairs with another message.

“Hey lover boy,” Hermione said in a sultry voice, “are you ready to do it again?” She ran her fingernail alongside his spine as she said it.

Immediately, Harry’s eyes flew open, and Hermione started to laugh. Harry was confused. “We didn’t, er, didn’t I just fall asleep?”

“Yes, I’m just teasing. You were a perfect gentleman. But now I have to figure out how to smuggle you out of here because Ron’s all worried that you didn’t sleep in your bed last night.”

Harry started to get out of the bed, but stopped short. “Um, Hermione, look the other way, would you?”

She was about to protest that she’d seen him half dressed the night before when she caught a glimpse of the tented bedclothes. God, he had a morning erection. She’d read all about those. “Okay, I’m not looking,” she said, turning around to the window. She thought he must be terribly embarrassed, but she couldn’t help but be a little thrilled by the idea of having slept in the same bed with him while he was sporting that.

“Okay, you can look now.” Harry had put his dressing gown back on, and all traces of excitement were hidden from view. “Hermione, I might have an idea. Do you know how to do a Disillusionment charm?”

She thought for a moment. “Yes. We haven’t covered them in class yet, but I’ve done the reading and I’m sure I can do it.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Hermione cast the charm, and Harry immediately blended in with his surroundings – not invisible, but camouflaged from view. “Finite incantatum should work fine with this spell, but if you can’t end it, come back down to the common room and tap my shoulder. I’ll wait down there for a while.”

Before Hermione cast the charm on the stairway to let him down, Harry tapped her shoulder lightly. “Thanks for what you did last night. It really helped a lot.”

Harry appeared in the common room a short while later, having opened the portrait hole before removing his Invisibility Cloak. Ron was fit to be tied, chastising Harry for making him worry. Hermione was once again reminded that Harry was a spectacular liar, but since it was for her benefit, she didn’t mind.

~*~*~

Several nights later, Hermione found Harry unable to sleep again, so she offered another massage, which he gratefully accepted. This time, she sent him back upstairs for the Invisibility Cloak. Like the last time, he fell asleep within several minutes of her massaging his back, and he was difficult to wake the next morning.

Harry ended up sleeping in Hermione’s bed every three or four nights for nearly a month. The conscientious Head Girl was able to justify this on the basis that it seemed to really help Harry’s mood and concentration when he was sleeping better, and she’d promised to assist in his preparation to fight You-Know-Who in whatever way she could. And it really had nothing to do with how much she enjoyed touching the smooth muscles of his back and waking up next to his warm body.

One night she’d found Harry awake again and invited him upstairs. Harry stretched out on her bed as usual, but Hermione stopped massaging him after about a minute.

“Harry, you don’t have any knots in your back muscles tonight. Why can’t you sleep?”

Harry turned onto his side to look up at her. “I know. I’m sorry. I–I just wanted to be here, all right?”

Hermione’s glare was sharp. “No, I’m not sure that it is all right. This is supposed to be about you getting a good night’s sleep.”

“That’s why I want to stay,” he pleaded. “I sleep so much better here than I do in my bed. And though your massages feel wonderful, I don’t really think they’re what’s helping me sleep.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. If he thought for one minute that she was going to be an easy conquest – like friends with benefits – then he was sorely mistaken. “So what are you saying?” she said cautiously.

Harry cocked his head to the side, leaning up on one elbow and blinking several times. At last he muttered, “I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

She’d prepared herself for his lame excuse. Oh, right, he just… oh God, he just admitted… She swallowed and opened her eyes wide. “You what?” she choked.

“Well, I’m not positive it’s love, because I’ve never actually fallen in love before, but if it’s not, then it’s really, really strong like.”

Hermione wanted to laugh at his earnestness, but she was too stunned. “But Harry, what happened to swearing off relationships and dating? You told me you weren’t interested in girls.”

He shrugged and offered a sheepish grin. “It was much easier to talk myself into that when I wasn’t sleeping next to you.”

Hermione sat next to him on the bed. It was all happening so fast – she’d had feelings for Harry for years, but she’d never allowed herself to dwell on them since he’d made it clear that girlfriends were not in his plans. She didn’t know what to say.

Harry awkwardly sat up and started to get out of the bed. “I know – you ought to be angry with me for trying to get a backrub under false pretenses.” He sighed loudly as he dangled his legs over the side of the bed.

“I’m angry with you for making me believe I never had a chance with you,” Hermione said. She quickly turned and caught Harry’s unsuspecting lips in a kiss.

Harry leaned into her kiss, and she felt his arms wrap around her. One hand snaked up the back of her neck and tangled itself in her bushy brown locks. Hermione had kissed a few boys before, but it had been ages, and it had never felt like this. It might have had something to do with the little moans he kept making, like he was savoring a rare delicacy. Harry made her feel so wanted.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long,” he said, softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before.”

Despite the pooling of desire in her belly, Hermione came to her senses as she remembered all of the creative lines Lavender and Parvati had heard from boys who were trying to get in their knickers. None of their boyfriends had used a declaration of love as a pick-up line, but Harry had always tended towards the dramatic. Was she so desperate for a boyfriend that she’d give him whatever he asked for? She mentally slapped the little voice in her head that shouted, ‘Yes!’

She pulled away and stood up, taking several steps across the floor. “Harry, I don’t think you should be here now.”

Harry looked as if she’d just kicked him in the groin. “Er, okay,” he said slowly. “But for the record, you did kiss me first. I thought it was what you wanted.”

Hermione reached for his hand and pulled him to his feet. “It was what I wanted – it’s what I still want. It’s just that you never once gave me a hint that you were interested, so now I need a little time to get used to the idea.”

Tilting her chin towards him slightly, Harry stared fearlessly into her eyes. “Time is something I haven’t got, Hermione. You know this.”

Her resolve was crumbling. Of course, he had a point. Professor Dumbledore could arrive at any point to take Harry away, and as much as nobody wanted to admit it, there was no guarantee that he’d come back.

Meanwhile, her sensible self could hear Parvati’s voice inside her head saying, “It’s so annoying when they act like their world is going to come to an end if they don’t screw you right that second. I mean, he’s got a hand – let him use it instead of me.” She trusted Harry, but there was no denying that he was a teenage boy with raging hormones.

“I don’t know what to do, Harry. If we’re going to be together, you’re supposed to ask me out on a few dates, then we kiss a little bit, hang out between classes, kiss a lot more and then, after we’re both completely sure about it, we sleep together. But we’ve got it all backwards, and I don’t know how to undo it.”

Harry rolled his eyes in frustration. “Why don’t you consult one of your books and see what the instructions say so that we don’t screw it up? We wouldn’t want to do it wrong,” he smirked.

Hermione didn’t think his sarcastic comment was very funny. “That’s not fair.”

“No, what’s not fair is for you to turn me away just because our relationship is different from everyone else’s. I’ve got news for you, Hermione. I’m different from everyone else, and I’ve never had a normal relationship in my whole life. It’s one thing to tell me to go if you don’t feel the same way, but if you do, then please…let me stay.”

She wavered. It’s not as if she didn’t know him well – he’d saved her from a mountain troll when she was twelve, after all. He’d taught her everything she knew about friendship and loyalty – things you couldn’t learn from books. He was waiting for her answer, clad only in his pyjama bottoms looking deliciously sexy.

“Get in the bed, but clothes stay on.”

Harry pulled her close again, kissing her enthusiastically. “Hermione, if you’re worried about me doing something you don’t want—”

“I’m not worried about that. I just don’t like not knowing what I’m doing.”

“Whatever you do will be perfect. You’ll see. Besides, it’s not like I have anyone to compare you to.”

He climbed onto the bed and pulled Hermione next to him. Settling into a semi-reclining position, Harry shifted his weight onto one elbow so that he had better access to her lips.

“You were saying that we should start with a little bit of kissing…”

Harry kissed her lips lightly before moving on to kiss her earlobes, her neck, and the hollow of her throat. Hermione arched into him, never having been kissed there before and wanting more. She allowed her hands to wander across Harry’s bare back and down around his waist. She was used to touching him, having carefully worked knots out of his tense muscles several times a week for a month, but Harry hadn’t been free to respond to it until now. As his lips glided across her skin, he was almost purring like Crookshanks did when he was particularly interested in getting her attention.

They kissed for a while and Hermione was very impressed that Harry did not try to push her into going farther than she was comfortable going. His hands, like hers, had stayed in neutral territory – on her back, her waist and above her shoulders. Hermione could feel the heat radiating off of her skin, or maybe that was Harry’s, because they were very close together with their legs entwined. She wanted more, and she knew he did, but the thought made her nervous. What if she wanted him to stop later and he couldn’t? Lavender had confided that scenario happening to her, and the incident had led to her breaking up with the boy whom she’d liked very much. Hermione was terrified that something like that would happen with her and Harry.

“Harry,” she said, “I think we should go to sleep now. It’s nearly two o’clock.”

Harry stilled, and there was a moment where the only sound Hermione could hear was his heavy breathing. He had a funny look on his face, which reminded her of when he was concentrating very hard to learn a new spell.

“Okay, if that’s what you want.” It was obvious from Harry’s tone that it was clearly not what he wanted, but she hadn’t had to ask him twice, and that was worth something.

“If you’d like, I’m happy to rub your back for a bit to help you fall asleep.”

Hermione didn’t think he knew that he’d shot her the most doleful expression she’d ever seen, complete with the puppy dog eyes. “Thanks, but I really can’t lie on my stomach at the moment.”

She hadn’t realized that his excitement would linger even after they stopped kissing. She bit her lip, which was slightly swollen from kissing. “Does it hurt?” she asked tentatively.

Harry blushed a little as he answered, “It’s not the most comfortable feeling, but I’ll live.”

Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Hermione couldn’t stop the guilty feelings, knowing that he was in pain and he could feel better if she’d only say the word. They crawled under the covers and shifted until they both had enough room. “Are you going to be able to sleep?”

He let out a half-laugh. “I doubt it. But it doesn’t matter, as long as I can be here with you.”

Hermione’s heart melted – it was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. It made her want to hug him, and kiss him, and grind her hips into his until his little problem was taken care of. She dimmed the lights with a flick of her wand and turned to face him. When she kissed him, Harry did not hesitate to kiss her back.

“I thought you wanted to sleep,” whispered Harry.

“You’re usually not awake when I try to fall asleep next to you.”

“Sorry.”

Hermione reached over and placed her hand palm-side down on the inside of Harry’s thigh. She moved it up his leg slowly, earning a huge gasp from Harry. His cock twitched violently.

“Hermione, don’t,” Harry squeaked. She responded by moving her hand up to his shaft and rubbing through his pyjamas, while her lips captured Harry’s.

“Massages aren’t the only way to relieve tension. I’ve not tried this before. Am I doing it right?”

“It’s so good – so perfect,” he moaned.

Hermione slid her top leg between Harry’s and continued to press against the hardness she found there. She licked Harry’s neck and collarbone, and sucked on the hollow of his throat just below his Adam’s apple. Harry moaned and rocked his hips, so that his erection was being squeezed between his body and hers. Hermione remembered reading something in a novel once that had titillated her, and she moved to straddle Harry’s hips, resting her pelvic bone on top of his steel-hard cock, the flannel of his pyjamas and the small swatch of her cotton knickers separating skin from skin. Harry’s hips rocked faster, and from the look on his face, the beads of sweat on his brow and his general incoherence, Hermione knew he was close.

“Love you…so much…Hermione,” Harry panted just before he came completely undone. Hermione’s eyes widened at his rapturous expression, enthralled by the idea that she’d been responsible for putting it there.

She climbed off of Harry and noticed right away that her knickers were soaked, most likely from her own excitement rather than Harry’s. She was plenty worked up now and wondered what she should do about it. Or maybe Harry would do something about it. She was certain he’d be willing – all she had to do was ask.

Harry leaned over the side of the bed and emerged with his wand in hand. He cast a cleaning charm on himself before snuggling in next to Hermione. “And I thought your back massages were brilliant! That was better than perfect,” he gushed.

He spooned up behind her and wrapped his outside arm around her while tenderly kissing her hair. His caresses were no longer platonic, drifting over her breasts and along her upper thigh. Hermione knew he could feel the wetness of her knickers as his hand roamed beneath the nightdress that had bunched up around her waist.

“Hermione,” Harry murmured into her ear, “it’s not fair that I just got to have that incredible experience without returning the favor. I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel. Let me touch you.”

True, she thought, he shouldn’t think he could get something for nothing. And she was more than a little excited. She took his hand from where it was resting on her hip and brought it up to her breast, placing his palm on her sensitized nipple.

“I’d like that,” she whispered.

Harry toyed with her breast, and Hermione could hear his breathing speed up as he pressed more tightly against her.

“It would be easier if you weren’t wearing so much.”

Hermione shifted onto her back and looked at him intently for a moment. His green eyes were so lovely and they were staring back at her with obvious affection. She shouldn’t be holding back anything from him – this was Harry, and he was being so sweet, wanting only to please her. She had to make her brain stop overanalyzing everything. She smiled shyly at him and, sitting up, pulled her nightie over her head. As Hermione slid her knickers down her thighs, she became very self-conscious.

“It’s only fair that you undress too,” she said. “Take those off.”

“All right,” Harry answered. He didn’t seem the least bit hesitant, despite the fact that he was already half-hard again.

Harry pushed Hermione back down to a reclining position and bent over to kiss her again. His hand rested on her breast, lightly tugging at her hardened nipple and making it peak even more. He laid a trail of kisses to it from her mouth, and when he made a tentative swipe at it with his tongue, she moaned.

“You’re going to have to tell me what feels nice, because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Hermione opened her eyes, not having realized that she’d closed them. “That’s nice – your mouth and the licking…” Her vision became unfocused as Harry found her other breast and gave it plenty of attention with this tongue.

Harry continued to explore Hermione’s body, stopping every once in a while to see if she liked something or to tell her how beautiful she was. It was awkward and he fumbled stupidly several times trying to get his weight balanced correctly so that he could kiss her lips and fondle between her legs at the same time. She led his fingers to her clit, showing him a motion she liked, and promptly became incoherent with lust.

Her hands frantically grabbed at him, finding his cock fully hard again and marveling at the feel of it in her palm. He moaned into her mouth as she stroked him.

“I need this inside me. Now,” she panted. As if to emphasize her point, she squeezed him gently before knocking his fingers away from where they were teasing her clit so mercilessly.

Harry pressed his erection into her thigh as his gaze met hers. “Hermione, are you sure? I thought you didn’t want to rush into anything?”

She was not in the mood to argue – her feelings quite strong on this point, clouded as they were with her libido spiraling out of control. “I changed my mind. Do it now.”

Harry seemed genuinely surprised and unsure of what to do next. He kneeled between her legs looking somewhat perplexed. “I’ve heard that it hurts girls. You know, the first time.”

Hermione smiled at his concern and propped herself up so that she could reach her wand. She pointed it at her abdomen and cast two spells. “That’s just Muggle girls – witches have a spell that helps. And contraception, of course.”

His hesitation abated, Harry pushed into her almost immediately, whispering how much he wanted her and verbally marveling at the feeling of being inside of her. Their bodies fit together beautifully and they quickly established an urgent rhythm. It didn’t take long for Hermione to lose herself in ecstasy, and feeling her muscles clench around him, Harry spilled into her moments later.

After basking in their feelings for a little while, Harry moved and they rearranged covers, shifted positions and snuggled together comfortably. Hermione turned out the lights, noting that it was already past four o’clock when she did so.

“Was that okay?” Harry asked in the darkness. “I hope I didn’t push you…”

Hermione kissed his fingers, which were resting gently on her shoulder. “It was wonderful. You were wonderful, and I’m not sorry at all.”

They kissed in silence for a few minutes before they both drifted off to dreamless sleep.

Hermione woke to pounding on her door. It took her a moment before she realized that whoever was there had no intention of going away until she answered it.

A smile crossed her face as she saw Harry sprawled out on her bed, only partially covered by the bedclothes. She plucked her dressing gown from the chair by her bed, wrapping it around her before opening the door a crack.

“Hermione,” said Lavender, “sorry to wake you up so early, but there’s a bit of a crisis in the bath—” Lavender stopped speaking in mid-sentence and stared at her friend. Hermione hadn’t realized that her hair was flying every which way or that she had that just-shagged look about her.

“What?”

Lavender pushed hard on the door so that it opened far enough to see Harry stretched out on the bed, his bare arse leaving no question as to what he and Hermione had been doing. “Hermione!” she squealed softly. “You never told me you and Harry… Ooooo, nice arse he’s got.”

Hermione didn’t know it was possible to blush as much as she was. She shushed Lavender and promised details later, begging her not to tell anyone else.

“Uh, Ester Franklin has locked herself in the bathroom, but how about if I just deal with it myself?” Lavender lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’d better get him out of here, though, in case we have to call McGonagall.”

Hermione nodded and shut the door quickly, leaning her back against it. She looked at Harry resting comfortably across her bed. Nice arse, indeed.

~*~*~

Harry trudged slowly up to his bedroom at the top of the dormitory. He threw his Invisibility Cloak on top of his trunk and flopped onto his bed. Within five seconds, Dean and Seamus had crossed the room and each was perched on a corner of his mattress.

“Well?” asked Seamus.

Harry grinned from ear to ear. “Dean owes you five Galleons.”

Seamus’s jaw dropped and Dean’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “No kidding. Really?”

“What’s going on?” Ron asked sleepily from his bed.

“Harry said he was going try to get into Hermione’s knickers and Dean, here, didn’t think he could do it. I knew better, though.”

“Hermione?” exclaimed Ron in amazement. “Our Hermione?”

“Yes, the vestal virgin of Gryffindor Tower,” answered Dean. “Wow – who’d have ever thought she’d say yes?”

Harry smiled smugly. “That was the beauty of it. I never even had to ask. She just offered. But don’t go thinking she’s a slag. I’ve never worked so hard for something in my whole life. N.E.W.T.s will be easy after this.”

Ron was still blushing, and apparently in shock after having learned that his two best friends had just had sex. “So was she…you know, any good?” he asked hoarsely.

“I think the fewer details you know, the better it will be for all of us. Let’s just say that I don’t have any complaints.”

Seamus and Dean slid off of Harry’s bed, and Harry could hear the sound of Galleons changing hands as he fell back asleep.

 

_finis_


End file.
